Robert Hernandez

I was born on July 19 in the city of Prudnik, in the south of Poland to a family of Spanish background. I’ve been tattooing for fifteen years. Tattooing is my daily job but drawing and painting have been a daily presence in my life since I can remember. It’s hard to say how long I’ve been drawing but it’s been since I was four or five years old. I think that one of my first drawings was a caricature of Charles De Gaulle. At the age of ten I first heard Kiss and it changed everything. I started drawing all types of images, sketch, and even a comic book about the band. I spent the majority of my teens with my great grandparents. My great grandfather used to draw caricatures in old notebooks that he kept. A pencil was always present on top of the table. From 1985 to 1988, I attended art school. It was a very creative time and full of great experiences. In 1988, I also moved to Madrid. At the beginning of 1992 I had the chance to start working at Mao y Cathy, the first ever tattoo studio in Madrid. A lot of great tattoo artist from all over Europe worked there. This period of my life was a great experience. Throughout the years I have tried to develop my own unique style. My style tends to be a little on the dark side, sinister even. My main focus has always been realism. I like to play with different tones and textures. I also enjoy distorting portraits or any other type of image. I try to create things that look as alive as possible no matter how far fetched the subject may appear. I believe that anything you can draw or paint you can tattoo. For my artwork I like to use pastels. I think that with pastels you can achieve a very graphic and sincere technique. They posses a unique texture that looks like oil paint. I also like oil paints and watercolor. My influences come from everywhere. From medieval art, impressionism, surrealism, contemporary art, and even photography. Of course music, like any type of art, can be a big inspiration. Since 1993, I’ve worked countless conventions and tattoo studios from all over the world. I have and will always gain great experience and inspiration from my travels. In 2000, I opened my own studio in Madrid. Vittamin Tattoo where I work still to this day.